Top Apple iPhone 5S Alternatives

Can't wait until September for the iPhone 5S or just don't want another iPhone? Get one of these powerhouse smartphones instead and you won't miss the 5S a bit.

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For such an incredibly profitable and well-regarded company, Apple has had a tough last couple of months. Consequently, there's a lot riding on the next iPhone, especially now that the current one is almost a year old, and that Wall Street's mysterious, long-rumored Apple TV and iWatch are still nowhere to be found.

Besides, the iPhone 5 already looks surprisingly dated. I say "surprisingly" because it was pretty drool-worthy when it was unveiled last September, but as faithful PCMag readers know, a lot can happen in 11 months. Recall that the iPhone 5's display finally got a size boost for the first time ever. A lot was made of the 4-inch size back then, because it's easier to hold, but wasn't as roomy as some of the larger Android smartphones at the time. Now, practically every smartphone has a larger screen than the iPhone. Models with 5-inch screens are practically flying off the shelves, while Samsung and LG are finding buyers for 5.5-inch and even 6.3-inch handsets.

There are a lot of other great things about today's smartphones, though. The obvious alternative is one of many Android phones, and they come with plenty of benefits: better Google account integration, more powerful notifications, customized home screens and widgets, and cameras and camcorders with more features, just to name a few.

Hardware-wise, you can get quad-core processors, 1080p HD displays, HDMI outputs, memory card slots, and swappable batteries, depending on the model. And don't discount Microsoft. Windows Phone is also doing much better than many people expected, with Nokia's camera-focused handsets leading the way, and Microsoft's app catalog is growing by the day.

If you need a new phone, but don't want to feel shortchanged in a month when Apple unveils the new iPhone, this is your list. Here are the best iPhone 5S alternatives on the market now—as in this very minute, and usually in stock. Granted, none of them are gold. But we don't think that's going to bother very many of you.

Jamie Lendino is the Editor-In-Chief of ExtremeTech.com, and has written for PCMag.com and the print magazine since 2005. Recently, Jamie ran the consumer electronics and mobile teams at PCMag, and before that, he was the Editor In Chief of Smart Device Central, PCMag's dedicated smartphone site, for its entire three-year run from 2006 to 2009. Prior to PCMag, he was a contributing editor for Laptop and mediabistro.com. His writing has also appeared in the print editions of Popular Science, Electronic Musician, and Sound and Vision,...
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